The name[edit]
The name
OlentzeroOlentzero appears in a number of variations: Onenzaro,
Onentzaro, Olentzaro, Ononzaro, Orentzago and others. The earliest
records give the name as Onentzaro and the name is most likely
composed of two elements, on "good" plus a genitive plural ending and
the suffix -zaro which in Basque denotes a season (compare words like
haurtzaro "childhood"), so "time of the good ones" literally. This
suggests a derivation similar to the Spanish nochebuena, but the
origin of Onentzaro, corresponding to the old feast of the winter
solstice, is older than that of
ChristmasChristmas (which historically replaced
the festival of
Sol InvictusSol Invictus in 380 under
Theodosius ITheodosius I in the Roman
Empire).
Other theories of derivation exist but are not generally accepted:[1]

from a metathesis of Noël, theory of S. Altube
from a fusion of O Nazarene from Christian liturgy, theory of J.
Gorostiaga
from oles-aro "alms season", a phonologically impossible derivation by
Julio Caro Baroja

In parts of
NavarreNavarre this holiday is called xubilaro or subilaro from
subil, the word for a
Yule logYule log plus the suffix -zaro. In parts of
Lower
NavarreNavarre the word suklaro is used, a contraction of sekularo.
Sekularo has no clear etymology but is likely to be related to Latin
saecularis.[2]
The legend[edit]

There are many variations to the
OlentzeroOlentzero traditions and stories
connected to him, sometimes varying from village to village. The first
written account of
OlentzeroOlentzero is from Lope de Isasti in the 17th
century: A la noche de Navidad (llamamos) onenzaro, la sazón de los
buenos ("To
ChristmasChristmas eve (we call) onenzaro, the season of the good
ones".
One common version has
OlentzeroOlentzero being one of the jentillak, a
mythological race of Basque giants living in the Pyrenees. Legend has
it that they observed a glowing cloud in the sky one day. None of them
could look at this bright cloud except for a very old, nearly blind
man. When asked to examine it, he confirmed their fears and told them
that it was a sign that
JesusJesus would be born soon. According to some
stories, the old man asked the giants to throw him off a cliff to
avoid having to live through Christianisation. Having obliged him, the
giants tripped on the way down and died themselves except Olentzero.
Other versions have the jentillak simply leaving, with only Olentzero
remaining behind to embrace Christianity.[3]
Parts of
OlentzeroOlentzero legend are reminiscent of a prehistoric cult
rituals surrounding the winter solstice, such as the involvement of
ritual "last meals" and sacrifices of rebirth.
Other versions of the Olentzeroren kondaira, or "history of
Olentzero", tell that as a new born he was abandoned in the woods and
was found by a fairy who gave him the name Olentzero, bestowed gifts
of strength and kindness on him and handed him to an older childless
couple living alone in the woods. He turned into a strong man and
charcoal burner who was also good with his hands, carving wooden toys
that he would carry in a big charcoal bag to give to the children of
the village. It is said that he died one day saving children from a
burning house and that when he died, the fairy who had found him
granted him eternal life to continue to bring joy to children and
people.
Other variations of the legend, customs and the character include:

in
Areso children would be told to come home early. An adult would
then dress up as
OlentzeroOlentzero and scare the children still out on the
streets with a sickle.
in
Uharte-Arakil he was traditionally suspended from a rope from a
window, dressed in a straw mantle, in Lekunberri the effigy was
attached to the chimney.
in
Berastegi if the children did not want to go to bed, a sickle would
be thrown down the chimney and the children told that
OlentzeroOlentzero would
come to cut their throats if they didn't go to bed.
in Dima a straw puppet dressed as
OlentzeroOlentzero with a sickle would be
hung from the church tower after the midnight mass on
ChristmasChristmas Eve
and if children had been behaving badly, people would say Onontzaro
begi-gorri txaminira da etorri, austen baldin badegu barua, orrek
lepoa kendu guri "
OlentzeroOlentzero with the red eyes has come to the chimney,
if we break the fast, he will cut our throats" - referring to the
traditional fast in the week before Christmas.
in
Larraun he was called Ononzaro and said to have three eyes and
usually depicted as a drunkard dressed like a scarecrow. People would
ask Ononzaro begi-gorri, non arrapatu duk arrai ori? (
OlentzeroOlentzero of the
red eyes, where did you catch that fish (i.e. inebriation)?) and the
answer would be Bart arratseko amaiketan Zurriolako arroketan (last
night at eleven in the rocks of Zurriola).

Around 1952, after the darkest years of the Franco dictatorship, a
group called Irrintzi Elkartea from
ZarautzZarautz began to revive the
OlentzeroOlentzero traditions.[4] Some of the more gruesome elements were
removed to make
OlentzeroOlentzero more suitable for young children and to
remove elements which were deemed too pagan. From 1956 onwards, the
revived
OlentzeroOlentzero traditions began to spread outside those parts of
GipuzkoaGipuzkoa where the traditions hailed from. During the 1970s he began
to take on further new attributes, such as the bringer of gifts in
attempts to find an alternative to the Spanish tradition of the Magi
and the French Père Noël, summed up in the slogan Erregeak,
españolak "the Three Wise Men are Spanish". Today
OlentzeroOlentzero is
celebrated all over the Basque Country and coexists with the Magi,
Père NoëlPère Noël and Father Christmas, some families choosing to celebrate
one or more at the same time.
In the modern version,
OlentzeroOlentzero is depicted as a lovable character,
widely attributed to being overweight, having a huge appetite and
thirst. He is depicted as a Basque peasant wearing a Basque beret, a
farmer's attire with traditional abarketa shoes and smoking a pipe.
Whether he has a beard or not is not yet an established tradition.
Sometimes his face is stained with charcoal, as a sign of his trade as
a charcoal-burner. On
ChristmasChristmas Eve, groups of people or children
carry effigies of
OlentzeroOlentzero around on a chair through the streets,
singing
OlentzeroOlentzero carols and collecting food or sweets (not unlike the
American trick or treat) and the traditions surrounding the holiday of
Santa Ageda in the Basque Country where oles egitea "asking for alms"
is practised. At the end, it is customary in some places to burn the
Olentzero, for example in Lesaka.
Variation is still common, both regionally and culturally depending on
whether the pagan or Christian aspects of Olentzaro are being
emphasised. Near the sea, he is usually takes on more marine
attributes, inland he remains thoroughly rural in nature.
OlentzeroOlentzero songs[edit]
Similar to European
ChristmasChristmas carols, there are
OlentzeroOlentzero kantak. Two
very common ones are:
Olentzero[edit]

OlentzeroOlentzero big head
robed in understanding
is said to have drunk last night
a wineskin of ten arrobas
Oh big-bellied pig!
Tralaralala, tralaralala.
Oh big-bellied pig!
Tralaralala, tralaralala.

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